Everton have reportedly selected former manager Roberto Martinez as their first-choice target to replace Rafael Benitez.
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Martinez, 48, was in charge at Goodison Park from 2013-16 and secured fifth, 11th and 11th place finishes in his three full seasons in charge.
He is currently the manager of Belgium and has a contract with the No. 1 ranked team in the world until after the 2022 World Cup in December.
Multiple reports claim that Everton have approached the Belgian FA and asked what it would take to get Martinez, while separate reports say the ex-Everton boss is keen on a return but wants to manage Belgium at the World Cup in December.
A report from The Telegraph says that Martinez could combine the roles and become Everton’s manager now and still coach Belgium during the international breaks and at the World Cup in December.
Would this make sense?
For Everton, yes. For Martinez, maybe not.
In short, Farhad Moshiri probably shouldn’t have fired Martinez as one of his first acts as the new majority shareholder at Everton back in 2016.
Martinez had done a fine job with the Toffees and even though their progress had stalled, it was certainly better than the last few campaigns.
Under Martinez Everton had an identity and for better or worse they played open, attacking football. Everton’s fans want the latter to return and Martinez would be the perfect coach for that.
However, things did turn sour towards the end of his time at Goodison and maybe it is better, especially for Martinez, for him to remain with Belgium through the 2022 World Cup and then reassess his options.
For Everton, other options include young coaches Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard, while Duncan Ferguson could be a long-term interim choice.
Martinez may feel like he has unfinished business at Everton, but is he really going to leave Belgium just before a World Cup where they are the favorites to win it all? Nope. But if he could combine the roles until December, well, that would make sense.